According to a recent U.S. government survey, more employees are now paying a portion of their hospital bills and fewer have access to employer-sponsored healthcare. Due to quickly rising healthcare costs and health insurance premiums, employers have been forced to increase the maximum out-of-pocket expense limit for their employees. Approximately 10 percent of employees were required to pay $150 to $400 out-of-pocket for hospital care in 1999. This number doubled to 21 percent in 2003. Moreover, during that time 3 million fewer U.S. workers were eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance. As healthcare costs continue to rise, these healthcare stats can only worsen for employees.